Digital Copiers Compared to Traditional Copiers

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digital copiersDigital copiers first went on the market 20 years ago. Prior to that, we used analog machines that were limited to one function. For example, a copy machine could only make copies, and a printer could only make printouts. Before digital machines hit the market, you could not purchase a machine that was able to perform both functions.

The difference with digital is that the machines can be connected to computers. They speak the same language as computers, which means they can do whatever the computer commands it to do. That’s what gives it the ability to function as both a printer and a copier.

Before copiers went digital, most offices had two machines for printing and copying. Typically they would have a big HP machine which they used as a printer, and another machine as a copier. We have come a long way since then. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I walked into an office and saw a setup like that.

These days, every one of our installs is for digital copiers that will be used not only as a copier, but a printer as well. Not only that, about 99% of the time the customer will also use the machine as a scanner. These machines now have the ability to scan documents into a computer for either storage or distribution. As each year passes, the copier world is becoming more and more computer centric. Everything is driven toward being internet connected and having multiple devices be able to communicate with each other.

Digital Copiers: Scan One, Print Many

Another technological advancement that came with the advent of digital was the ability to scan once and print many. Years ago when copiers were analog, if you wanted make five copies of a multi-page document it would work like this:

  • You would feed in the first page, and the copier would make 5 copies of that first page.
  • The first page would then be dropped into its own collator bin.
  • Then you would feed in the second page, and the copier would make 5 copies of that second page.
  • The copies of the second page would be dropped into a separate collator bin

The process would continue this way for however many pages were contained in the document. This meant you needed a large collator with a lot of bins if you were frequently making copies of multi-page documents. This was cumbersome and tedious, to say the least.

Today, with digital copiers, you can feed in all pages at once and it will be stored in the copier’s memory. The copier can then print multiple sets without having to scan the pages again, because it can retrieve the information from its memory.

The streamlined process offered by digital does two things. One, it cuts down on the space required to house equipment and collator bins. Two, it cuts down on the probability of of a paper jam, which is one of the main problems collators would run into.

Nowadays there’s no question whether to buy a digital copier or an analog copier; digital has taken over the market. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to go back to analog anyway. With that being said I invite you to take a look at the variety of digital copiers we have available. Please contact me or give me a call at 973-985-0911 to set up an appointment.

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